Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Church Brew Works (Lawrenceville)

It was time to return to Pittsburgh last Saturday with my sister in tow who was to spend two days here. We drove straight from Toronto to the Church Brew Works where R. was waiting with his brother and sister-in-law, who were also in town visiting that day.The Church Brew Works is a brew pub, and a pretty cool one as far as I can tell. As an old cathedral converted into a brewery-slash-dining establishment, it definitely has a unique atmosphere and worth visiting at least once. Seeing that I'm not at all a beer drinker, however, I really don't have much to say about the beer, except that the beer enthusiasts at the table shared the beer sampler and enjoyed most of the selections.

As for food, I really wasn't quite sure what to expect with it being a pub (which sadly often means "don't expect too much out of the food") and having seen some mixed reviews. I decided to go the safe route and ordered The Greek Wrap which had been recommended by two separate sources. The spinach wrap was stuffed with hummus, cucumbers, kalamata olives, pickled red onions, feta cheese, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce with lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. It wasn't too bad. I also requested that the side be upgraded to sweet potato fries, which came with a deliciously spicy chipotle-ketchup. I was pretty satisfied with my choice.

The Greek Wrap

I had wanted to try some of their special Alligator and Plantain Pierogies, but alas, they had just sold the last of it. Instead, I had a few bites of Lil Sis' Traditional Pierogies, which she learned quickly is a Pittsburgh staple. These were your basic potato and cheese pierogies served with sautéed onions, melted butter, and sour cream.

Traditional Pierogies

I also had some of R. and his brother's Pierogie Sauté which were Sautéed potato and cheese pierogies served with applewood smoked bacon and broccoli in a garlic cream sauce. Both the traditional and the special sautéed pierogies were quite good.

Pierogie Sauté

I surveyed everyone about their food and all were satisfied. The menu is perhaps a bit too "pubby" for my taste, but it seems they do have some interesting specials (as long as they don't run out of them!), and the idea of dining and chugging beer in a church is enough reason to check this place out. I see this as a place I might take a beer loving tourist for a casual meal.